Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Jean-Louis de Biasi, author of Secrets and Practices of the Freemasons, The Divine Arcana of the Aurum Solis, and Rediscover the Magick of the Gods and Goddesses. Jean-Louis is also Lifetime Grand Master of the Ordo Aurum Solis and Kabbalistic Order of the Rose-Cross.

Jean-Louis de BiasiSecrecy has always been the fundamental cornerstone of initiatic Orders. It has also been the first requirement of any magical practice. I want to believe that there are reasons for this and that our ancestors didn’t take all these precautions without any reason. I was trained in this spirit and it became as natural as the respect of privacy.

Then came Facebook!

With the spread of Internet, we went from few lines of text to millions of photos and videos. All has to be seen, shared, and superficially discussed. It doesn’t matter if this is intimate, private, or public. I cannot spend more than a few minutes on Facebook without being astonished by the tendency to expose everything. Some psychologists would speak about exhibitionism! Maybe this is true, maybe this is not so bad…

Magicians followed the trend, apparently without any thought regarding the nature of what they are posting. I agree that posting beautiful photos of a Wiccan Priestess in nature is artful and inspiring. This is the same for photos of your yoga class in Hawaii or the latest magical place you found.

Magicians are humans, too! They have their style, their apparel, their mood. Sharing things seems essential on Facebook. Here is my latest ritual robe! Here is my latest altar, my candles, my pentacles, my banner, my pillars! Here are the full magical installation in my temple that I am about to use for this precise purpose in few minutes! Of course all that is followed by what I felt in the ritual I just performed and the photos of the candles after the ritual.

It might be good to take a big breath, and stay still few seconds.

What happened in the magical community? Why do privacy and secrecy seem to be lost? Why is nobody listening to more than 4,000 years of teachings?

Magic has its rules, its logic, and its laws. The initiate Apuleius, who lived in the 1st century, wrote about the initiations he received:

If any of you that are here present had any part with me in these same solemn ceremonies, give a sign and you shall hear what it is I keep thus. For no thought of personal safety shall induce me to reveal to the uninitiated the secrets that I have received and sworn to conceal.1

There is a deep reason for that. All the Theurgists and magicians who followed him did the same.

If magic really exists and works, there is a need to keep the energy involved concentrated. It is important to avoid any disruptions, even on the invisible level. It is essential to stay focused. There is a real need to avoid people sending their thoughts and energy on the ritual you are about to perform. In order for the ritual to be as best as possible, we have to keep it quiet!

That doesn’t mean we cannot speak about it or show various things. But I am convinced that there is a magical need today to think twice before posting on Facebook.

In traditional cultures, it is said that if you give information about yourself and about what you are doing magically, others have everything needed to act against you! If you believe that magic is real, maybe this is something to consider, too.

Then what? I think that we could consider the ancient rules and laws, trying to consider what parts are relevant today! I strongly believe that magic is a great and living tradition we have to consider seriously. Let us send few Facebook posts as wise magicians!

1Apuleius, Apology.


Our thanks to Jean-Louis for his guest post! Visit Jean-Louis de Biasi’s author page for more information, including articles and his books.

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Written by Anna
Anna is the Senior Digital Marketing Strategist, responsible for Llewellyn's New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit, the Llewellyn Journal, Llewellyn's monthly email newsletters, email marketing, social media marketing, influencer marketing, content marketing, and much more. In her free time, Anna ...